CSR Venture Yields Results in Assam

Guwahati: Under Numaligarh Refinery Limited’s CSR program focusing on skill development of beneficiaries, 30 youths from the vicinity of the oil refinery in Assam’s Golaghat district are currently undergoing a 6-month training on Ayurveda Panchakarma at the Santhigiri-NRL Institute of Paramedical Sciences in Guwahati.

The initiative was started keeping in mind the Centre’s policy of appointing trained paramedics at Ayurvedic centres across the country.

The NRL Santhigiri Ayurvedic Institute in Guwahati has been training these 30 students since January, 2017. Twelve students from this group have recently joined the All India Institute of Ayurveda at New Delhi as Panchakarma Para Medical Attendant. At a time when State government jobs have been a far cry for unemployed youths, the selection of 12 students from a remote locality in Assam to join a national institute is being regarded as a remarkable achievement.

It may be mentioned that Panchakarma is a traditional Ayurvedic practice prevalent in South India, particularly Kerala, the demand for which is surging in India and abroad. As per industry estimates, the AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani , Siddha, Homoeopathy) sector, which has an annual turnover of around Rs 120 billion, is growing by 20 per cent annually. There is a need for about 90,000 Ayurveda Panchakarma technicians every year. NRL undertook the venture to train local youths in this skill in view of the huge opportunities that it offers.

The CSR initiative is in line with the 'Skill India' mission of Government of India, which would also serve to propagate the AYUSH systems of health care.

The Refinery had inked an MoU with M/s. Santigiri Ashram in this regard last year. After completion of the program, the youths will be placed in Santigiri Centres across the country.